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What’s a 91��ɫ sociology professor to do if he discovers an ongoing deficit in writing and language skills among his students? If he’s John Paul Grayson or Robert Kenedy, he applies for an  (AIF) grant and creates an online course, Skills for Success in Sociology, to teach these much-needed basics.

“Last year, we did a survey of 1,000 students in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS),” said Grayson. It confirmed our worst fears. Only half of the students had the skills required for academic success. Next, we enlisted our colleagues at the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo and Western University to do their own surveys and the results were the same. It’s a phenomenal problem.

“Post-secondary education is premised on students acquiring certain skills before they arrive here. As far as we’re concerned the secondary school system has great goals for its students, but the means of evaluation don’t capture the mastery of specific skills. It’s easier to push students through the system than teach the skills. At the post-secondary level, the skills deficit is so pervasive, there’s no incentive for faculty to take action.”

Kenedy says it’s an international problem, not one confined to Canada.

“We find similar problems with students across the globe,” he said. “In very few places have they taken the bull by the horns.”

Both professors have been aware of the skills gap for a number of years and have addressed it in their individual classes. Now, however, they’ve decided to tackle the issue head-on with Skills for Success in Sociology, an online, four-credit course designed specifically to teach the writing, literacy and numeracy skills essential for career – and life – success. The course, once approved, is slated to be taught as a pilot in Fall 2019. Each faculty member will teach a class open to 50 students.